The Berry Basket

Secure your spot today! Our open sessions are limited in size to provide personalized attention and ensure all your questions about our family program are answered. Registration is linked in our bio. 🫐🧺

Secure your spot today! Our open sessions are limited in size to provide personalized attention and ensure all your questions about our family program are answered. Registration is linked in our bio.

Berry Basket Parent & Child Playgroups are inspired by the wisdom of Waldorf education, an approach that provides a healing gesture, environment, and rhythm for children and their grownups; as well as a safe, welcoming, and nurturing community where everyone is acknowledged and respected. At time when more and more children need extra time, space, and support, and when parents wonder if they are doing enough, the Berry Basket creates a welcoming and healing space where everyone can simply breathe.

Surround yourself with beauty, cloak your soul in love; Remember there’s a reason here and up above. Believe that your actions will do more than you’ll know; When you spread the love around, it only starts to grow.” (author unknown) ❤️🫐🧺Happy Valentine’s Day from the Berry Basket Early Childhood & Family Programs!

Kneading bread dough provides many benefits to children and grownups! It is a full-sensory experience that nourishes their sense of touch and stimulates their sense smell. It also provides a release of muscle tension and redirection of focus from the mind to the hand. In addition, it helps develop the muscles young children need for dexterity and handwriting, while simultaneously nurturing their hand-eye coordination.

There’s really nothing better than the smell of freshly baked bread wafting from the Berry Basket classroom! In addition to the nutritional benefits of homemade bread, studies have revealed baking bread has therapeutic benefits, such as making one feel happy, more relaxed and a sense of achievement. Baking bread is also an excellent activity to do with children and their grownups, helping to foster healthier and happier family relationships and communities. And the tactile experience lowers anxiety — which is how therapy dough came into practice among children and adults! #.

You and your children do not have to navigate this alone. Your child’s primary care physician and teachers want to help all children thrive and can be helpful resources in identifying both the signs of anxiety and the potential causes of anxiety, while also supporting you as you navigate getting help. Finding like-minded community can also be helping in easing the societal pressure many parents experience.

The American Academy of Pediatrics states that, “Children do best when routines are regular, predictable, and consistent.” Not only does a rhythmical routine provide them with security and familiarity, but it also helps them grow into increasing independent participants within their family’s routines. Grownups can reduce their children’s anxiety by reviewing the set of tasks that need to happen each morning and then following a plan that includes pre-thinking and preparing for the day ahead of time.

Children process their emotions through play, and dress-up play can help be especially helpful in sorting through emotions, boosting problem solving skills and self-regulation. Furthermore, by providing children with open ended materials like silk scarves, knitted ropes, hats and crowns, parents and teachers support imaginative play and encourage creative problem solving and communication in young children. And, dress-up play provides opportunities for children to safely act out scary situations and practice new skills and behaviors in a secure setting because they control their play narrative.

Childhood anxiety is a complex issue, with various causes. One area that is often overlooked is the connection between anxiety and the child’s developing vestibular system. When underdeveloped, it can lead to difficulties in processing sensory information, which may contribute to feelings of anxiety. Imagine the feeling of the rug being pulled out beneath you. Play that includes swinging, spinning, jumping on a trampoline, balancing on a balance board, walking on uneven surfaces, and rolling downhill stimulates the inner ear’s balance receptors and supports the developing vestibular system; thereby, reducing anxiety.

As Waldorf teachers we strive to create a sense that “the world is safe and good” for both children and their parents. But even before the pandemic, anxiety that interferes with daily life had risen in young people, making everyday activities like going to school and socializing difficult and more stressful. Over the next few weeks, I will share how I soothe common causes of anxiety, including uncertainty, change, and stress in early childhood. It’s important to remember that every generation faces unique challenges during their childhood, and not all children experience the same level of difficulty; however, as adults tuned in to the outer world, we too may appreciate the opportunity to recommit to a parenting path that helps us and our child remember the goodness in the world.

Start your New Year with a spoonful of wonder and a dash of joy! Happy New Year!